Meadow Dam work close to completion

DERRY - Bad weather and unexpected damage have slowed down repairs to the Meadow Dam at Beaver Lake, but work could finally be completed by the end of next week.

“It's been a long project, and we did not expect it to take this long, but there have been constraints due to the weather and the heavy rains,” said Mike Fowler, director of Public Works.Work on the damaged dam began early in May, after the town filed a $3,000 reconstruction permit with the state.

Work included placing a second pump, removing the headwalls and excavating for a new concrete pad on the upstream side of the dam.Fowler said the work also included building a 12-inch wall on the front face of the dam to tie into the concrete pad. To reinforce the steel, holes under the dam were fixed with a chemical grouting process to fill the voids with a concrete type of material.The chemical grouting contractor was on site before July 4 and found fairly substantial voids in the concrete of the dam.

Although the contractor had enough material on hand to fill the voids, Fowler said it was more damage than they were expecting to see.Fowler said American Excavating should be finishing up the last of the work on the dam early next week.

“We're really getting close to closing out this project,” he said. “There is still some work left on the abutment on the Chester Road side of the dam.”Fowler thanked the residents of Martha Drive and Sabra Circle for their patience during the project.